


What Friends Are For

by zilldk



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Best Friends, Bucky's got Clint's back, Clint Needs a Hug, Fantasizing, Friends taking care of each other, Longing, M/M, Massages, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 09:50:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4430666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zilldk/pseuds/zilldk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I told you to strip”, Bucky demanded, putting the bottle of oil down on the coffee table.</p>
<p>“‘M not wearing any underwear”, Clint protested and Bucky rolled his eyes “Come on, quit making a fuss and get ’em off.  I’ve seen your ass plenty of times and I’m not going to rape you, you idiot.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Friends Are For

**Author's Note:**

> This is written into an already established headcanon that my bestie [winginblood](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Winginblood#cutid1) and I created, and it can be summoned up like this:
> 
> Bucky and Steve are together, and so is Clint and Phil. Bucky and Clint are _best_ friends (because they have both been manipulated with plenty against their will and thus has a lot in common), and Bucky and Clint hangs out a lot when Phil and Steve are out on Avenger Business. They are all living in apartments in the Avengers Tower.
> 
> **********************************************
> 
> A million thanks to [winginblood](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Winginblood#cutid1) for being my eternal inspiration and encouragement, and for kicking my butt about posting. Without you this would never have existed.  
> And another million thank yous to [amerasu1013](http://archiveofourown.org/users/amerasu_1013/pseuds/amerasu1013#cutid%22) for kicking my butt into posting as well and for being all kinds of amazing and awesome about pretty much everything.
> 
> I now have two matching footprints on my ass and I figured I should probably do something about it. :)
> 
> *********************************************

The workout had been intense, the sparring even more so, and Bucky was well aware that the violence in his best friend had its root in frustration and longing, the intense feelings needing an outlet that Bucky gladly provided the means for. Phil had been away on diplomatic missions as director of S.H.I.E.L.D for nearly three weeks now, and it had taken its toll on Clint to be without his partner for so long without any missions to concentrate on to take the edge off.

Bucky wasn’t doing much better, Steve had been in and out of meetings with the new World Security Council two states away, making sure that the negotiations and the rebuilding of S.H.I.E.L.D was happening without any more Hydra infiltrations. It was important work and Bucky knew why Steve had to attend, but it didn’t make it easier to handle the longing he was left with at home. 

But it was one thing to handle his own demons, it was something else to see his best friend suffer so badly and he had decided that it was time to do something about it. He knew how strong a bond there was between Clint and Phil, and he was determined to do something to help ease the misery Clint was in, if only for a moment. It was clear that Clint had denied himself release of the more physical kind for far too long by then, probably out of some misplaced loyalty to Phil, and his whole body was one wound up knot, which made him careless and sloppy in combat training and during their sparring sessions, taking uncalculated risks and balancing at the edge of unnecessary injuries. 

It was no good. Worrying for his friend made it a little easier to endure his own longing, and after a shower Bucky hauled Clint with him upstairs to the living room part of his and Steve’s apartment, pointing to the place on the floor in front of the tv where a thick, soft rug made a very comfortable spot to lie down and relax on.

“Strip and get down on there, belly down. You’re more tense than a bowstring so I’m gonna take care of you.” He turned on the tv and set it on some random channel, merely using it for background noise and then he went into the bathroom to get the massage oil and fresh towels that he and Steve kept there. 

Clint was tired, dead tired, and it virtually radiated from him when Bucky came back. He had stripped out of boots and socks and his shirt was discarded on the couch, but he was still wearing the sweatpants.

“I told you to strip”, Bucky demanded, putting the bottle of oil down on the coffee table.

“‘M not wearing any underwear”, Clint protested and Bucky rolled his eyes “Come on, quit making a fuss and get ’em off. I’ve seen your ass plenty of times and I’m not going to rape you, you idiot.”

Clint made a huffing, grumbling noise, but eventually he complied and laid down on the rug naked, getting comfortable with a pillow under his cheek. He was tensing a little while Bucky prepared oils and towels, using one of the fluffy cotton ones to daintily cover up Clint’s ass cheeks. 

“Alright, are you done being a girl so I can start?”, he teased, but there was no malice in it, just the usual friendly banter. When Clint started to protest half-heartedly, Bucky could truly hear the fatigue in his voice, and he knew that he’d be fine. He poured the massage oil into his left bionic hand and rubbed his palms together, heating up the oil and the cool metal before he settled by Clint’s feet and started the massage there. He took care of his feet first, starting with his toes and working the soles, using pressure points that he knew would help ease tension in other parts of Clint’s body. 

Bucky was in no hurry, worked one foot first, then the other and he did a thorough job before moving up to work on Clint’s calves, massaging the muscles in slow, firm movements, spreading the oil and massaging it into his skin. 

He smiled softly as he heard Clint let out a groan, and he could feel how he gradually relaxed the muscles under Bucky’s hands, slowly giving in to the pleasure of patience and thoroughness. 

Bucky knew how it felt, knew what it _did_ , and it was something he was glad to do for his friend. He poured out more oil and continued up to the knee joints, working the hamstrings and moving up along the powerful, muscled thighs, allowing his fingers - both metal and flesh - to dig into muscles and loosen them up, taking the time needed before he could feel Clint relax there too.

“Hey C, tell me about Phil”, he said as he worked his thumbs in small circles into the strong muscle extending from knee to buttock. “Tell me the first thing you noticed about him.”

Clint groaned a small protest over being made to actually _think_ in this situation, but Phil was easy to think about and it didn’t take long before he was talking fondly about how handsome Phil was, now capable he was and how gentle, how it had just said ‘click’ the first time Clint had been assigned to his unit and taken his first orders from him. Clint had still been a rookie in S.H.I.E.L.D, but in no way a rookie in regards to his profession, and he had impressed everybody on the very first mission. 

“Did he notice you just as fast?” Bucky asked as he worked his way further up, stopping at the edge of the towel for now and instead started working on Clint’s right arm that was stretched down along his side. Hands first, fingers and palms, working the oil into the skin with patience.

“Mm, not sure”, Clint answered, voice sounding lazy. “Maybe? He didn’t say anything if he did, and he treated me completely like a professional. It was awesome to be the new kid and not be treated as a lower being. I’ve had plenty of that in the past, but that was not Phil’s style.”

“I’m not surprised”, Bucky said, smiling. Clint’s eyes were closed and it felt good to see that he was enjoying this. Bucky moved up to work on his wrist and lower arm, paying close attention to the muscles there that were used to take the strain of the bow, and Bucky could feel the hard wired muscles beneath Clint’s skin as he worked his fingers and made the tension ease out. “When did you go beyond professional?”

Clint groans as Bucky found a particularly sore spot and worked on it for a while, but it wasn’t too unpleasant and Clint seemed content in knowing that it would help. “6 - 7 months maybe? I’m not sure. We had been out on a really crappy mission and everything had gone sideways. We came home with two severely injured agents and battered and bruised after being caught in an exploding building. It sucked. We were all hauled off to the ER for check up, and it took forever before we got out and could go home to base. I ended up catching a ride with Phil, and in the middle of the drive Phil pulled the car over and turned in his seat to look at me.” Clint’s lips turned up in a soft smile at the memory. “I think I just stared completely stupidly at him, and then all of a sudden he was kissing me, and by god, I kissed back like he was the air I needed to breathe. It was fucking awesome.”

Bucky worked up to Clint’s upper arm, continuing his patient work there, smoothing the skin with warm oil and massaging the strained muscles there too. “Did you fuck that night? Excessive trauma does that to people - drives them together. It’s textbook” 

Clint chuckled. “Nah. As much as I wanted to, we were both too banged up to actually be able to enjoy it, but I slept in his bed and he held me all night long. I’ll never forget it. The morning after though… Let’s just say that it was a very… _interesting_ morning shower.”

“Kinky”, Bucky teased, smiling softly as he finished work on Clint’s right arm and moved around him to start work on the left, once again starting with the hand and kneading upwards. 

He kept asking questions, coaxing Clint into talking about Phil, telling about little things, like what Phil’s favorite color was, where they liked to go for dinner when they went out on dates, how Phil liked to hold hands when they were at the zoo or in the park. He kept Clint going, turning Clint’s mind into a mindset completely focused on Phil, speaking in a low, soothing voice until he could feel Clint start to drift from the relaxation that was spreading in his body, both from the full body massage and from the mental presence of Phil in his mind. 

Once Bucky finished with the other arm, he moved down to sit between Clint’s thighs to get a better position for the next part. He warmed up more oil in his hands, glad that the metal of his left hand was now warmed up from the work so far. He leaned forward to spread the oil over Clint’s heated skin on the lower back, gently soothing tense muscles with steady hands.

“You know, it’s okay to pretend I’m him”, Bucky smiled then, pressing his thumbs firmly into the tense muscles along the lowest base of Clint’s spine. “I know how much you miss him. Close your eyes and let him be here for a bit, just enjoy.”

Bucky could see Clint’s cheeks flush pink, and it made Bucky smile. He wasn’t too far off in his guess of just how much Clint needed this. “Imagine his hands on you, just like this. I bet he’s better at this than me, knows exactly where to work the knots and how to make it feel good.”

Clint hummed, his voice more slurred now. “Not better, but damn good. He’s… got amazing hands.”

“I’m sure he does”, Bucky cooed, leaning forward to use the heels of his hands at the small of Clint’s back, moving downwards and pushing the towel away so he could knead firm buttocks with his hands. He moved his hands so there was no inappropriate touching, merely made sure that even that part of Clint’s body wasn’t neglected. Clint shifted a little, letting out a soft groan and Bucky smiled when he could feel another knot loosen up and smooth out. “He’ll be home soon, Clint, don’t worry. He’s not gone because he wants to, you know that. He’s got a really fucking important job.”

“Mm, I know”, Clint moaned, the rosy color in his cheeks evening out as he relaxed again. “Want his hands on me.”

“Of course you do. Close your eyes again, Clint. It’s okay to drift.” He could see Clint’s eyelids droop and fall closed and once Clint was back in that semi-dreamy state, Bucky lifted his knee over Clint’s thighs and settled his weight there, straddled Clint’s thighs and pinned his hips in order to be able to reach his back. He warmed up more oil and started to work up along the entire expanse of Clint’s back, using the same thorough, slow strokes that he had been using on the rest of Clint’s body, and he could hear Clint’s breath hitch as he shifted his weight a little, unintentionally grinding Clint’s hips into the soft carpet beneath him. “Can you feel him, Clint?”, Bucky asked, voice low and hushed. “His hands, his weight?”

“Y..yes.” Clint’s reply was a stuttered whisper, a breath that softly escaped his lips. His fingers twitched a little, but he didn’t move, was too far gone to have the strength or the will to change anything, and Bucky smiled, feeling warmth spread in his chest.

“Just let go, Clint. I’ve gotchu. Let Phil take care of you. Let him be here, it’s okay.” Bucky kept working, slow, circular motions, caressing as much as massaging now, coaxing Clint into the fantasy. “Let go, Clint, you’ve been vigilant for so long.” 

Clint’s breathing quickened and the flush returned to his cheeks, but this time Bucky was sure that Clint was not aware of it. He was too far gone now, too deep into the fantasy and Bucky mentally fistpumped as he could feel Clint try to shift again, whimpering softly when he found that he was pinned. Bucky knew that Clint was hard, knew that he was close too, and so he kept working, talking softly, voice cooing and coercing, assuring Clint that he was taken care of and that Phil was there with him, even if it was only in his mind. 

It was beautiful, the way Clint moaned softly, sweat glistening on his forehead and made his hair sticky and wet, and it only took a moment longer before it was _enough_ , and Bucky could feel Clint’s entire body tense beneath him, hips jerking several times in search of friction and a few gasps escaped his lips before everything stilled and Clint slumped again, completely boneless. 

“That’s my boy”, Bucky gently hummed, smiling as he moved off of Clint’s thighs to sit beside him instead and let his hands gently slide up and down Clint’s back and thighs in long, slow caresses. It took a while for Clint to resurface, and when he did, the furrows in his brow were gone and his eyes were brighter.

“Fuck”, he mumbled into the pillow, lips curling into a smile. “That was awesome.”

Bucky chuckled and swatted Clint’s ass before covering him up with a towel again. “I _told_ you that I would take care of you, you stubborn ass. Feeling better?”

“Aside from the fact that I just made a mess of your carpet and don’t want to move ever again, yeah. So much better”, Clint said, groaning as he shifted his arms a little. “Thanks, Buck.”

Bucky’s smile was warm and genuine as he met Clint’s eyes, and he hummed softly in acknowledgement of Clint’s thanks. “I’ve got you, pal. What else are friends for?”


End file.
